1985.24.14

Collection type

Object

Description

Oil lamp with cylindrical body and strap handle, made from recycled powdered milk and Afri Cola cans [RTS 14/7/2005].

Long description

Oil lamp made in several parts from 2 or 3 different types of recycled aluminium containers, which have a base colour of metallic grey (Pantone 877C). An unidentified type of container with Arabic writing was used to make the nozzle; a powdered milk container was used for the shoulder and handle, and an Afri Cola container was used for the body. The nozzle is made as a separate part that fits into the top of the body. It consists of an upright section made from a rectangular piece of metal rolled into a narrow cylinder with the ends overlapping, and the decorated printed face of the can on the inside, where it is not visible; this has a light and mid blue printed design that includes an image of a glass, perhaps suggesting it is part of the milk container. This has been fitted into a horizontal circular metal disc with a hole crudely cut into its centre; the disc is made from a can printed with black Arabic script on a sky blue background (Pantone 290C), with the pattern facing upwards. This probably has a stoppered base, but it is jammed tightly into the neck of the lamp and thus not visible. The body below consists of a short, cylindrical neck, made from a sheet of metal rolled into a cylinder, with the unprinted side of the metal facing outwards. This has been soldered onto a broad conical shoulder piece with central hole, cut from a powdered milk container, with part of a large glass or jug of frothy milk visible on a blue background (Pantone 2925C), with the message "[F]ull Cream Powd[er]", part of a red design above, and "Contains Vitamin A D3, C [...]" along the base of the fragment. The shoulder has been soldered onto the top of a cylindrical body, made from the lower part of a soft drink can. The can has a seam down one side, and groove around the body just above the ring base, which is not stamped. The can has been printed with a black background, red and white geometric shapes and white text that appears in both English and Greek script. Around the centre is a row of red lozenges (Pantone 1797C), with the lower part of similar lozenges at their tips, printed with the logo of a palm tree with the phrase 'afri cola' across its bough. There is a circular logo near the upper edge, that is printed in red 'Campania Hellas' around an image of a plant; and a rectangular logo nar the base of a man throwing rubbish into a bin. The words 'TRADE MARK' appear at the base of one of the cola images, while a block of sideways text runs down parallel to the seam, reading "330 ml 11,6 fl oz A.X.Σ. 3100/80 A.Y.Σ. 3093/81" then "SOFTDRINK WITH CAFFEINE CONTAINS: CARBONATED WAT[ER...] PHOSPHOIC & MINERAL & MALIC ACID, NATURAL FLAV[OR...] AUTHORITY OF THE AFRI-COLA BLUNA GMBH, COLOGNE [...] BY CAMPANIA ELLAS S.A., THESS[AL]ONIKI/GREECE TEL [...]". Along the base of the printed area there is further script, in Greek, that reads: "ΓΕΡΜΑΝΙΚΟ ΠΡΟΙΟΝ AFRICOLA ΣΥΣΚΕΥΑΖΟΜΕΝΟ ΥΡΟ ΤΗΣ ΚΑΜΠΑΝΙΑ ΕΛΛΑΣ ΑΕΒΕ ΜΕ[...] ΓΚΡΙΣΗ ΕΚΧΥΛΙΣΜΑΤΑ, ΦΥΣΙΚΑ ΑΙΘΕΡΙΑ ΕΛΑΙΑ, [...] ΘΕΙΝΗ 0,015%, ΒΕΝΖ. ΝΑΤΡ. ΟΛΙΓΩΤΕΡΟ ΤΟΥ 0.01% ΤΗΛ. ΑΘΗΝΩΝ [...] 94,25969−9 ΘΕΣΣΑΛΟΝΙΚΙ: ΤΛ: 031/[...]1534−0394/61213". Finally, a thin strip of metal, probably cut from the same powdered milk container, with white writing on a blue and red background and some splashes of a pale green paint over te top, has been bent into a loop and soldered to the edge of the shoulder and midway down the body to form a vertical strap handle on one side. The lamp is complete, with patches of surface rust and some surface scratches; the nozzle, which is made as a removable piece, has rusted into its current position. It has a weight of 46.5 grams, and is 130 mm high. The nozzle has a diameter of 7.3 mm, while the neck diameter is 21.7 mm, the shoulder measures 67.5 mm across, and the base is 65 mm in diameter. The strap handle is 6.8 mm wide and 29.5 mm long [RTS 14/7/2005].

Geographical reference

South Sudan

Africa > Eastern Africa > South Sudan

Bahr el Jebel Yei

Person

Field collector Lutaya Expedition

PRM source Lutaya Expedition

PRM source Barbara Elaine Harrell-Bond

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1984

Date collected

July to September 1984

Acquisition information

Purchased: 1985

Materials and processes

Material Aluminium Metal, Process Recycled, Process Hammered, Process Bent, Process Soldered, Process Printed

Dimensions

Diameter 65 mm base, Height 130 mm, Diameter 7.3 mm nozzle, Diameter 21.7 mm neck, Diameter 67.5 mm shoulder, Weight 46.5 g

Object numbers

Accession number: 1985.24.14

Research and responses

A province known as 'Equatoria' or 'Al Istiwa'iyah' was in existance from some time in the 1940's to 1981, after which point it was divided into the districts of Eastern and Western Equatoria; in the 1990's these were subdivided further into the modern administrative districts of Western Equatoria, Bahr el Jebel, and Eastern Equatoria. Yei is located in the district now known as Bahr el Jebel (Times Comprehensive Atlas, 1999, plate 86).

Note that lamps 1985.24.11-14 have all been made in much the same way; compare these with 1998.9.7, a toy aeroplane made from recycled aluminium and incorporating a lamp nozzle of the type seen here. Note that none of these lamps have been provided with wicks [RTS 4/11/2004].

Search terms: Lighting, Writing, Lamp